Traditionally we have molded our lives to accommodate the physical dictates of cities. That is changing—fast. Our cities increasingly are reflecting the architecture and aspirations of tomorrow in their buildings, street life, social connectivity, technologies, transportation systems—even how they welcome and entertain travelers.

Over three decades, Traveler magazine has undergone dramatic changes to reflect where, how, and why we travel. In 1984, we sought out the sights; now we want unique experiences. We traveled to vacation; now we want to be transformed. In the past 30 years, we’ve shot more than 3.4 million photos and published some 36,000. Here we celebrate our anniversary through the camera lens, offering a chronicle of changing times.

The drive from Dublin to County Mayo unspools on a maze of country roads traversing low-slung hills, hummocks, and small towns where the pub still seems a main staple of life. So it is a soaring moment when I come to the western margin of Ireland and find myself at the barren doorstep of the Atlantic’s green rush of swells and surf.

It’s difficult to be entirely dispassionate about something that has been in my family for centuries. So, full disclosure: ​Throughout the do-we-go, do-we-stay debate on Scottish independence, I’ve been on the side of staying the course with the U.K. and I am relieved that Scottish pride and the knee-jerk, up-yours attitude that once resulted in moors sodden with ill-spent blood spilled by the English gave way to what the Scottish are born to—a calculating practicality that eventually wins the day.

In the 1980s, ecotourism—driven by a deep conservation and environmental ethic—focused on remote jungle lodges, nature treks, and the like. It was well-meaning and maybe appropriate to the time, but dwelled on the fringes of a largely uninterested mainstream travel industry. At Traveler we observed this and felt a broader approach, around sustainable tourism, would…

Is there a magic formula for the perfect beach town? No, but America could offer up more than a few candidates if they were doling out the title. Here are just a few of them, recommended by Nat Geo Travel staffers.

Have you ever wondered what makes an award-winning photograph? Here’s your chance to find out. Join the judges of the 2014 Traveler Photo Contest for a Google+ Hangout On Air, and get the inside scoop on how they chose this year’s winners (they’ll be announced at the end of July!) from more than 18,000 submissions.

Becoming a travel pro takes time–and lots of trial and error–but it’s not cheating to learn from the experiences of others. The folks at Nat Geo Travel know that as much as anyone. And while we have a lot of road miles under our belts, we’re students of the world, too. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.

Two years ago, National Geographic Traveler contributing editor Carl Hoffman shared with me an idea for his next book. It struck a chord because when I was ten I was drawn to the subject: the mysterious disappearance in 1961 of Michael Rockefeller in what was then Netherlands New Guinea. Did he drown? Was he shredded by a crocodile or shark? Or, most grisly, was he eaten by cannibals?

Ever dreamed of having the ear of National Geographic Traveler’s editor in chief? Here’s your chance. Keith Bellows will be the featured guest on a live Twitter chat next Tuesday, April 8th at 12:30 p.m. ET, so start thinking of what you might want to ask him.

National Geographic Traveler magazine publishes 14 international editions in 12 languages. I read–or look at, when there’s a language barrier–them all. They are a window on the world, reflecting the personalities, interests, dream destinations, and visual expressions of their readerships.

“When I first met Andrew McCarthy, he had never been published,” recounts National Geographic Traveler Editor-in-Chief Keith Bellows. “He convinced me to take a chance on him.” The wager paid off. For the past several years, McCarthy has been raking in accolades and awards for his distinctive storytelling and delivering brilliant prose again and again for Traveler, where the actor-director is now an editor at large. Here’s a brief peek at the life and times of Andrew McCarthy.

Last summer I brought a wisp of my childhood to our dinner table, a game called Geography that my family played when I was growing up. Each person would name a place starting with the last letter of the preceding destination: me, SwedeN; my mother, NormandY; my sister, YellowstonE; and so on. Playing this game, my…

The U.S. is a great country to explore, but if you don’t have the proper paperwork, popular family-friendly destinations like Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, and most of the islands in the Caribbean are off limits. With or without a passport, however, there exists a place where American families can go to experience a culture much different from their own: Puerto Rico.

When I became editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine 15 years ago, the word “ecolodge” suggested places that were so pared down and dutiful that many travelers were regarding them as the domain of the backpacker — all basic furnishings and uninspired food. Therefore it is astonishing to see how much the lodging industry has changed in little more than a decade.

We wanted you to hear it here first: National Geographic has consolidated all of the 125-year-old Society’s travel assets, including Traveler magazine, National Geographic Expeditions, travel books, apps, maps, and photography programs, as well as the best of our digital offerings and social communities — under one exciting new umbrella: National Geographic Travel.

Any child who has taken basic world history classes knows about Athens and its indelible contribution to Western civilization. But studying a place and its heritage is far different from actually being there.

At first glance, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore looks familiar to kids. The drifting sand, seagulls, and miles of turquoise water all add up to one thing—the ocean. But then, somewhere—maybe on the 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive or while rolling down the pile of sand called Dune Climb (dubbed “the sacrificial dune” because it’s…

My daughter Mackenzie just turned 7. At her birthday party at the Playseum, she stood in front of a child’s version of a world map—no country names, just illustrations of objects like whales and palm trees and pandas. I watched, astonished, as she pointed out dozens of places—Paris, Antarctica, China, Australia. Then it dawned on…

Somewhere between picking up top honors from the Society of American Travel Writers for “The Cycle of Life” and publishing the acclaimed memoir The Longest Way Home, the Traveler magazine contributing editor found time to write the foreword for National Geographic’s new coffee-table-worthy book, World’s Best Travel Experiences.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to let our readers ask him about his own time spent on the road. This is what he had to say.

About Intelligent Travel

National Geographic believes that to know the world is to change it. We're on the front lines of travel that illuminates, celebrates, and preserves irreplaceable places--and we're taking you along for the ride.